Customer Reviews

A Skeleton in God's Closet

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the first book I read in the genre 'Theological Thriller'. The book represented the world really well. It depicted one way the world could react to the discovery of Jesus' bones. It was an intense read at times forcing me away from sleep to continue another chapter. I enjoyed the book thoroughly except for one thing, the romance. There was a relationship between the main character and another character that seemed out of place and a bit forced. This was a pretty minor thing though. I just dismissed the relationship as just a vessel for more conflicts and complications to intensify the situations. I give it a 4 out of 5 because there were some instances where it was slow but they were pretty slight, but this combined with the relationship brought it down a little. As I said, overall I love the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good, captivating read!

I was urged to read "A Skeleton in God's Closet" by a co-worker whose opinion I respect so I decided to give it a try. The plot drew me in and I was impressed by Dr Maier's obvious knowledge of archaeology, the Middle East, and Biblical scholarship. He created a plausible scenario and I found the central mystery to be quite a page-turner.

It's a good thing that the story is good because the writing is pretty bad. The dialogue is laughable at times and there are frequent instances where Maier, when his characters are in a bind, simply tosses logic out the window and has a high-level official somewhere clear such obstacles as traveling without a passport or gaining access to a particular building. There is one entire sequence involving swimming the Dead Sea that is almost beyond belief, no matter how much you try to suspend it.

But the most painful part of the book is the romance. Dr. Maier clearly has significant academic credentials but, on the evidence of this book, he is not capable of writing believable dialogue between two people falling in love. There were times when I almost laughed out loud, such as the romp around the Sea of Galilee when our two lovebirds first declare their affection for one another. I was reminded of nothing so much as the scene between Leslie Neilsen and Priscilla Presley in "Naked Gun" when they frolicked to the warblings of Herman's Hermits.

I gave the book three stars on the basis of the story; it is strong enough to warrant your time. Focus on it and the central mystery; try to tolerate the grating dialogue, remarkable plot contrivances, and the worst romantic subplot since whatever James Patterson wrote last.

Then read this book! I loved the overwheming sense of reality that Maier portrays here. From cover to cover I was deeply enveloped within the story, engrossed in each character and deeply moved emotionally by every upset and twist and turn. When someone died I actually shed tears! I gasped with shock aloud at many points! The only reason I allowed it to loose a star is because at times I found the precise Technical explanations of the archaology extremely tedious and hard to read through, some of them felt like college textbooks; but honestly every bit of it was worth the deep philosophical questions asked! Would this change your faith? Can the world adapt to such a severe shift in perception? Incredible realism, images painted more vividly than most movies can even begin! I think anyone who enjoys a deeply rooted mystery, a spiritual journey, or a deeply introspective search would thoroughly enjoy this book! Or even if you just want a good fast-paced page turner to cozy up with on an otherwise lazy afternoon. Remember: action, discovery, mystery, romance, and philosophy all with one whack!

This is the first novel I read by Mr. Maier and was extremely pleased. It is useless in telling what the plot is about since others have explained it and the main review gives it away. This book is first rate for its outstanding attention to detail in terms of religious philosophy and archeological terminology and methodology.

The character development, including some startling twists and turns along the way, does not leave the reader asking "What else is there to this character?" It's like Maier was watching the actors live out his story. Rare is it to find an author willing to develop charcters' background and personality to the extent Maier does.

Maier, a scholar, is a treasure not only to history, religious studies, and philosophy, but also to literature and story telling. Above all, Maier challenges the readers' own faith with each turn of the page.

A great story that deserves reading.

This is so good, I wish I had the means to bring this into film. It would be better than any Indiana Jones thriller with it also being so accurate in its details.

Maier keeps you really hanging on this one -- I mean the whole of Christianity rides in the balance, unless you're one of those that skips ahead.

Top of the list of Christian fiction!

I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up because I'm interested in historical fiction, and the cover caught my eye. When I first read the book three years ago, I found it really gripping, and wished I had someone to discuss the story with. I decided to pick it for my bookclub this month, and just re-read it in anticipation of our discussion. I finished the whole thing in a day, and it was as good as I had remembered. Personally, I did not think the love interest detracted from the story, and I thought it was handled in a very appropriate way. I think the author has really done a good job of imagining all the things that could realistically happen if Jesus' bones were discovered, and I liked the intrigue the main character had to go through to solve the mystery. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in archeology, historical novels, or religious themes.

While I do agree with other reviewers that the archaeological techno-babble got a bit tedious at times, I can't help but give the book five stars. I guess it's because I'm a wanna-be archaeologist, who knows.

Anyway, onto my review... When I first heard about this book, it was because my Grandmother was a subscriber to the Guideposts condensed books, and this happened to be in a volume. Well, I had read another book in the volume, and decided this one looked interesting -- since I was a fan of archaeology anyway -- and I decided to read it.

My, what a surprise it was. You really don't know quite what to expect when you get into a book that handles such a controversial topic, but the author did it beautifully.

I could scarcely put the book down, and when I was able to find the full version, I bought it immediately and read it from cover-to-cover in a day.

Even if you're not a fan of Christian fiction, I must highly recommend this book. Even if your knowledge of archaeology comes from seeing a single Indiana Jones movie. I think if you give it a try, you'll really like it.

I have been working on my Master's degree at Western Michigan University where Dr. Paul Maier serves as a highly esteemed professor of ancient history. I had the thrill to take his class on Biblical Archaeology and History and he is a natural story teller. Besides being an award winning teacher and author, he is also a Lutheran minister who was able to share his faith in class while doing a professional job of maintaining objectivity while discussing biblical history.I've read "Skeleton In God's Closet" and found it to be a gripping story that displays Maier's extensive knowledge of archaeology and of Israel. My wife and other friends have read it and gave it very positive reviews. All of them remarked how it gave a positive view of Christianity without trying to slam it down your throat. Anyone who thinks Maier had a devious motive by suggesting that Christ was not resurrected have either not read the book or are too shallow to get it. I also recommend his novels "Flames of Rome" and "Pontius Pilate", they are historical fiction that are more historically accurate than any other novels of its kind. His translation of the writings of "Josephus" is also excellent, surpassing any of the other antiquated translations because it is very easy to read while maintaining scholarly excellence.

I really wanted to like this book. It was highly recommended to me by a close friend. I was fascinated by the premise of the book, but I found the writing to be weak and the ending was easily predictable less than half way through the short book.

I read "Pilate" and couldn't wait to read more of Dr. Maier's writings. Following "Pilate," this book was a real disappointment. It had a fascinating plot, but the characters were completely unbelievable. He tried to put a romance in the story-line that just came across as ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that "Pilate" and this book were written by the same person.